Draco's Detour
by louise4
Summary: Chapter Three Up. Draco meets a family member he never met, and discovers a family honour he didn't know existed. Will Draco be able to choose his own path in life at last? Post OotPSlight AU. Response to the Draco's Detour Challenge. HD Slash
1. Draco

**DISCLAIMER**: Nothing is mine. Shame.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: This was written in response to the Draco's Detour challenge on Page of Peril and thus is out of date as far as HBP goes, so no spoilers.

Draco's Detour

By Louise

**Chapter One: Draco**

Once upon a time there lived a boy who had everything he ever wanted. He was good looking, rich and totally secure in his position in the world and his innate superiority over everyone else. This being the case, it was rather surprising to see him lying on his luxurious bed in his richly furnished bedroom, sulking. One thought and one thought only was running through his handsome head…'it's so unfair'…

"Come _on_ Draco."

Scowling the boy stood up and straightened his clothes, chafing at the unjustly impatient note in his mother's voice as she called him for the first time. Refusing to hurry he walked sedately down the grand, over blown staircase and into the equally grand and over blown lobby where his mother was waiting for him.

Narcissa Malfoy looked impeccable as usual, perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect makeup…'and perfect son,' he thought bitterly, though to own the truth he was being rather unfair on his mother. However, as we have already established, Draco was sulking, and it was something he prided himself on. Having long ago realised that he had outgrown the highly effective tantrums of his youth, he developed instead a great aptitude for self pity, and had been employing it continually since his most inelegant arrival at Platform 9 ¾ two weeks earlier. While his humiliation at the hands of Potter's friends had been bitter, he would have gotten over it had the loving and concerned mother he'd always known been there to great him. What met him instead was a cold, reserved woman who had no time for him, preferring instead to keep to her rooms, or go out on mysterious errands which she would brook no questions about. He would even have accepted this state of affairs had he for on moment believed it to be connected with his father's incarceration, but if his mother was loving to him, she showed no such feelings for her husband. A marriage of convenience and politics, there had been little love between the two, though Draco fancied that there had been a peaceful co-existence and even friendship until it appeared that You Know Who was not quite as dead as everyone had hoped.

"Where might we be going mother?" he asked in the lazy drawl he fancied made him sound as grand as his father, no one having the heart to tell him it sounded just like what it was…a child trying to play at being grown up.

"It's time you learnt what it means to be part of a family," Narcissa looked at him coolly before turning on her heel and heading for the door, secure in the knowledge her son would follow. And follow he did, intrigued and annoyed in equal measure.

Two minutes later Draco found himself being driven off the estate by his mother, and in a muggle car none the less! It was a nice car, he would admit that much to himself, silver and sleek, with big comfy seats and a box that played soft classical music. Stretching slightly he turned an enquiring face to his mother, "are we doing something about father?"

"You could say that Draco," she replied, looking for all the world as if she were trying not to smile.

Draco turned and looked out of the window, telling himself that all would be revealed soon enough, and he couldn't exactly _make_ his mother talk now could he?

After about half an hour the car turned into the driveway of the smallest house Draco had ever seen (not that he had actually seen that many houses, but it still seemed ridiculously small to him.)

"Come on Draco," his mother commanded, opening the door for him and waiting for him to climb out of the car. Stretching, Draco got out of the vehicle and looked around him. The quiet road was full of houses near enough identical to the one he stood in front of, all with neat little gardens and wooden gates at one side, and a big square-ish door on the other. Hearing his mother's steps crunching the gravel beneath him, he turned to look at the house in front of him, just as ordinary and mundane as all the others, with its neat garden and featureless bricks. 'How utterly pathetic, to have to live in a place like this' he patted himself on the back for being sensible enough to be born into a family with money.

He watched as his mother pulled out a key and opened the white door, turning impatiently to see what was keeping him. Hurriedly he followed her into the house and into the most boring set of rooms he had ever seen. The small hall was painted magnolia, as was the slightly larger rooms that followed. He was able to differentiate between the lounge, dining room and kitchen only by the furniture held in each, there being no difference in decoration or indeed any sign of life at all in house.

No sooner had the thought flittered across his mind then he heard a creek above him as floor boards gave slightly under someone's feet. Turning sharply at the noise he noticed no surprise on his mother's face, which perhaps lessened the shock when someone called down "Narcissa?"

"Just coming up," his mother responded and Draco turned confused eyes to meet her gaze. "Follow me," she commanded.

They walked up magnolia stairs and onto a magnolia landing with six doors off of it. Draco stared in amazement at the doors, wondering if this house was magical, despite all evidence to the contrary, for he could see no other explanation as to how that many rooms could be contained in such a small space. Finally his eyes fell on the one open door, leading into yet another magnolia room, this one clearly a bedroom (as proved by the bed in the middle of the room).

Sitting in the middle of the bed, was a man, though Draco used the term loosely…'walking corpse would be more appropriate' he thought wryly. The matted black hair was greasy and knotted in such a way as to confirm that the man had not been anywhere near a shower in a very long time. Hanging off a gaunt frame were clothes that even the werewolf would have turned his nose up at, ripped, muddy and very possibly bloodied as well. The man's face was painfully thin, with lifeless eyes staring out from hollow sockets.

Staring, Draco found himself unwilling to go closer, yet unable to look away, caught in a horrified fascination that he couldn't escape.

Then the man stood, and the illusion was shattered.

Literally.

"Narcissa, I see you made good on your threat and brought your offspring with you. See how pleased I am."

"It is time he learns what family loyalty really means," his mother replied coolly, but Draco was in no position to register anything she was saying. In fact, he was quite impressed he was able to think logically, for the moment the man moved Draco felt his whole perception shift and the house burst into life…and colour.

Rippling out from under the man on the bed, waves of colour spread out through the house. Draco could _feel_ the magic wash over him and the carpet beneath his feet changed to a deep red, while the walls took on light shades of purple, yellow and green. And the man, the gaunt, lifeless man was gone, and in his place stood an angry man who looked like he was not much older than thirty. Long, thick hair replaced the knotted mess; casual robes replaced the rags that barely passed as clothes.

The man walked closer and Draco sensed an innate self confidence in the way the man moved: it was much as his father had always strode around the manner, king of all he surveyed. 'But not any more,' he corrected himself bitterly.

Surveying Draco like one would a dangerous animal the stranger offered his next words as a taunt. "But what'll blow your mind is wondering which is the illusion."

Unsure how to respond, he just glared angrily, starting at his mother's next words. "Sirius," his she snapped angrily, "don't confuse the boy."

**END CHAPTER ONE**

So, what did you think?


	2. Narcissa

**DISCLAIMER**: Nothing is mine. Shame.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: This was written in response to the Draco's Detour challenge on Page of Peril and thus is out of date as far as HBP goes, so no spoilers.

Someone asked what the pairings would be. I'm not telling, but this will have slash (background pairing) – I can't quite decide if I want it to be Draco/Harry or Draco/Pansy for the main pairing.

Anyway, on to chapter two

**Chapter Two: NARCISSA**

"Are we doing something about father?"

Narcissa watched her son's face as she answered, trying not to smile, albeit sadly, at her son's continued belief that everything in both their lives revolved around Lucius.

'What would he say,' she thought to herself, 'if I turned the car around and headed for Azkaban? Would his image of the all powerful Lucius finally dwindle when faced with the man his father had become?'

She'd never loved Lucius, and she guessed that her son knew that, but they'd lived a peaceful, almost happy co-existence until the whole Dark Lord thing started again. Lucius wasn't a good man, but he was an attractive one: he had the power to draw people to him, to make them love him, and whether deliberately or no, he had worked his way into her affections with his charm, his humour and his love for their son. For love she knew it was, though sometimes he was hard on the boy.

As she had been, she reminded herself sternly. Her heart had broken when she saw her poor battered son walk off the Hogwarts Express, head held high despite his injuries. She supposed he remembered the year before, when his father had curtly told him that a real man didn't allow things like that to happen, that a real man attacked first. Because Draco hadn't seen Lucius' first reaction. She had. She seen the pain and love in his eyes as he looked at his son, and she had seen it disappear, masked by the words and actions of a faithful Death Eater.

She felt herself becoming increasingly tense as she headed towards the muggle settlement that was her destination. She had found her cousin the most boring, mundane house possible, a house that did not stand out, a house that caused no one to notice it as long as it continued to blend in with its surroundings.

Climbing out of the car, she went round and held the door open for her son, who seemed unable to tear himself away from his disdainful assessment of the house before him.

"Come on Draco," she hurried him along, going ahead of him and into the house, turning to hurry him along with a _look_.

As she open the door she rolled her eyes at Sirius decoration of the house. 'He always had a turn for the dramatic,' she reminded herself in an attempt to prepare herself for the encounter between her cousin and her son.

"Narcissa?" 'Well who else would it be' she indulged herself with the sarcastic response before responding that they were coming.

"Follow me," she commanded Draco, leading the way up the most mundane colour scheme she had ever seen before ending up in the master bedroom looking at the Azkaban escapee at his very worst.

'_Oh for God's sake Sirius'_ she wanted to shake him. He was always such a bloody attention seeking show off and it had always gotten him into trouble.

Draco, however, was entranced, and she almost felt sorry for him when Sirius moved, shattering the carefully prepared illusions.

"Narcissa, I see you made good on your threat and brought your offspring with you. See how pleased I am." Git.

"It is time he learns what family loyalty really means," Narcissa replied coolly, allowing her son a few moments to process all he was seeing. Despite herself she felt a welling of pride that it was someone from her family who showed him the true glory of their gift. That it was a Black that made him stop and marvel at all that magic could do. A Black that bought magic out of the mundane and into the extraordinary.

This momentary pride was done away with by the usual exasperation she felt when dealing with her cousin as she watched him approach her son with the teasing taunt "But what'll blow your mind is wondering which is the illusion."

"Sirius," his she snapped angrily, "don't confuse the boy."

She could see her son was on the verge of a major fit at being called a boy on top of everything else so she continued speaking. "Draco, this is my cousin Sirius Delanus Black, Sirius this is my son Draco Augustus Malfoy, Malfoy heir and the last descendant of the Black line."

_The Black line_. Even today after over 20 years of marriage to a Malfoy Narcissa still felt the pride and power in her heritage that had been one of the main reasons she had been chose as a perfect wife for Lucius. The Black line was as old as the Malfoy one, and while they may have stepped back from the lime-light that did nothing to diminish the status and regard her family was held in in the wizarding world. A political match on so many levels, Lucius' conviction that she would be a loyal wife made him forget the loyalty she still owed to her family.

And it was that loyalty that bought her here today, watching her son offer his hand to her cousin, clearly on autopilot.

'Oh dear, he seems to be in shock,' she raised an amused eyebrow at the proceedings, relieved when Draco shook his head, retracted his outstretched had and asked in his normal, haughty tones, "aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Rumours of my death were greatly exaggerated," he began before Narcissa cut him off.

"That was your father's intention Draco, but he is still my cousin, and the patriarch of the Black family and as such I could not allow your father's plans to go unmolested."

"You went against father? And now you want me to follow you blindly?"

"Well you should be good at that," Sirius smirked, "you being Lucius' lapdog and all that."

"Sirius," Narcissa snapped as Draco bristled further, "don't antagonise my son. Draco, if you have any sense of self preservation you will be following me from now on, and as a good Slytherin I'm sure you'll know what to do." Instead of replying he shocked her by turning on his heel and storming off downstairs.

"Quite the charmer you're raising Narcissa," Sirius smirked again as his cousin followed her son downstairs.

She found Draco sulking in the lounge, staring out at the small garden through the patio doors.

"You can't just push me around this, telling me what to think all the time," he burst out without looking at her.

"Draco, until you are an adult you will be guided by your parents in all important matters, and since your father has removed himself from the situation I will be the one to guide you."

"That is hardly a sufficient explanation mother."

"It is all you will be getting. As much as I may have accepted your father's politics, I do not embrace them, and by attacking my family he is also attacking me. And you." She could see him contemplating her words and could see some level of acceptance. "Trust me darling, it is time to try things my way."

"Fine," he nodded his agreement, but his lips were drawn together in a stubbornly defiant line. Wisely she held her tongue and went back upstairs to her cousin.

Sirius surveyed the two Malfoy's thoughtfully but when he spoke it was on safer ground. "Do we have a plan?"

"I think it is best to take this matter to Professor Dumbledore and we can take his guidance from there."

"You would," muttered Sirius at the same time as Draco exclaimed at the suggestion, outraged by this further betrayal.

"Dumbledore mother, that old fool?" He turned then to Sirius, curiosity replacing his anger, "Why would you say that?"

"Always the teachers pet, my cousin."

"But mother was a Slytherin, wasn't she?"

Laughing at the sudden suspicion on the young boy's face Sirius nodded, "but why should that prevent her from being Dumbledore's favourite."

"The old fool only favours Gryffindors like his previous Golden Boy."

"Are you really that naïve? Dumbledore is no fool, whatever your father thinks. He may be protective of Harry, for obvious reasons, but he is excessively fond of anyone who can give him a run for his money."

"What my cousin is saying, is that Professor Dumbledore has a fondness for people who don't just take his manipulations but rather play him at his own game, and who better than a Slytherin for casual counter-manipulation?"

"You've confused him again Narcissa," Sirius looked on the boy with amused contemplation and his cousin rolled her eyes at him in frustration.

Her cousin truly did drive her round the bend, but he was technically the head of the family and thus the conduit though which the Black magic flowed. It was old wizarding lore that the head of any family was the linchpin of the family's magic, and acting against the linchpin would weaken the structure as a whole. While there was strong suspicion that this long held belief was nothing more than a fabrication intended to keep impatient heirs in line, none of the main pureblood families had ever been brave enough, or foolish enough to test the suspicion out. As such, when she had learned of her husband's plans, Narcissa had felt obliged to move against him.

Added to this was the fact that any idiot could see that Voldemort, while gaining in power, was unlikely to succeed against the combined forces of Albus Dumbledore and a grown Harry Potter. Having seen the boy at the Quidditch World Cup she had been shaken by the sheer power she could feel rolling off the boy, and wondered how her husband could fail to see it.

"I have sent an owl to Professor Dumbledore requesting an interview with him, telling him I am in possession of something he will be interested in seeing."

"Am I a possession now Narcissa, a bargaining tool in your latest round of games?"

"Were you ever in any doubt? Dumbledore will call me to him by return owl and offer me tea laced with veritaserum, upon which I will reveal to him my motives for the meeting."

"And then?"

"He will be all eagerness to see you, of course, as well as being suitably impressed by my deceptions."

"And are we expecting kick off any time soon, or am I to spend even more time here, alone?"

"I could stay with him mother," Draco offered before his mother could speak, and the starts of both adults suggested they had all but forgotten his presence.

"And what would you do Draco?"

"Talk to him, I suspect there is a lot he could tell me," Narcissa didn't quite like the calculating look on her sons face and wondered what exactly it meant.

"I'm not sure that's a great idea Draco, Sirius has the tendency to be rather a bad influence."

"You are married to a man who lists killing people amongst his hobbies and you call me the bad influence?" Narcissa caught the teasing smile on her cousin's face even if Draco didn't and she replied in the same vein.

"Politics is one thing, Sirius, but poor table manners and a fondness for vulgarities is quite another."

"Indeed, though I must question your priorities when you consider the greater faux pas to be the use of the wrong fork rather than an unsightly tattoo."

Rather than responding, Narcissa simply raised an amused eyebrow and quit the field, "I believe I have an owl to post, try not to corrupt my son in the few minutes it take for me to send off my letter."

Leaving her son to Sirius' care, she headed out to the back garden and called her owl to her, giving him the letter she had written earlier that morning. "Fly fast, pet, for I fancy this is the parting of the ways."

She watched as the owl flew off into the distance, enjoying the warmth of the evening's sun, before heading upstairs to see what state her son was in.

Pausing at the top of the stairs she was surprised to hear conversation between the two men, seemingly led by her son.

"And that's why Potter was so cut up at the end of term, because he though his Godfather was dead?"

"He was?"

"Oh he was trying to hide it in his usual 'brave little hero' manner, but any idiot could see he was grieving. Surely this doesn't come as a surprise to you?"

Draco, it seemed, was once again on his favourite topic of conversation, though it was following a different vein to the one's she and Lucius were subjected to every summer and she was slightly taken aback by just how much attention her son appeared to give his rival.

"We didn't part on the best of terms, and well, Harry was a little disappointed in me. He stumbled across, or should that be into Snape's pensive and found out some things he didn't like about how his father and I treated Snape."

Narcissa joined them with a quiet, "he should talk to Draco, they could share stories about their disappointing fathers."

"Excuse me, standing right here, and I'm not so sure he is that disappointing."

"Your father idolises a man who was defeated by a one year old, darling, so I don't think we should be revering him now, should we?"

"Well maybe we don't know the whole story."

"Dark Lords shouldn't need giving the benefit of the doubt Draco, so let's just accept my word on this one shall we? There's a good boy."

Fortunately they were interrupted here when Dumbledore apparated into the room.

**END CHAPTER TWO**

What did you think?


	3. Dumbledore

**DISCLAIMER**: Nothing is mine. Shame.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: This was written in response to the Draco's Detour challenge on Page of Peril and thus is out of date as far as HBP goes, so no spoilers.

Pairings: who was I kidding, really? Of course this'll be slash. Can't quite bring myself to make this Draco/Pansy, it's been Harry/Draco in my head from the start so I'll stick to that. There is another slash pairing which will be revealed next chapter.

Anyway, on to chapter three.

**Part Three: Dumbledore**

Albus Dumbledore was enjoying a quiet afternoon's reading when a familiar owl flew haughtily in and landed on his desk. As he reached forward to remove the letter the owl was carrying, Albus could almost fancy the creature was expressing it's distain of the clutter surrounding it, beak held high, eyes constantly darting around the room, claws gingerly shifting about on the desk.

Unfolding the scroll, he quickly read the note enclosed.

_Albus,_

_I have something of interest to you._

_Meet me._

_Narcissa_

Smiling he smoothed the brief note out on his desk and cast a series of spells over it, seeking not the veracity of the contents but the location of the sender.

"There you are," he muttered in satisfaction, gathering up his wand and apparating to the revealed location.

0 0 0 0 0 0

"No wards, Narcissa?" he asked calmly, ignoring the startled look on Draco's face.

"Briefly removed, Albus," she replied calmly, clearly not really surprised by his sudden appearance.

Looking around the small, colourful room, Albus' calm was shaken when he studied the magical signature rolling off the walls. "Black magic?"

"That'd be me."

"Sirius?" Truly startled he staggered back into a hastily conjured chair, sitting down heavily. For a moment no one said anything, studying him carefully. Finally he spoke, a lively note in his voice showing he had, to some extent, recovered from the shock of seeing Sirius back from the dead. "Congratulations Narcissa, you've finally undone me."

He had truly enjoyed the challenge she provided during her school years, but he had never felt any pressure from the challenge, it was merely a mental workout. Now however, staring at the man he believed dead, he had to give her her victory as completely as she had won it.

"Thank you Albus," she returned, smiling slightly, "but the time for gloating has passed. What are we to do with him?"

"First tell me how you pulled him from the veil."

Narcissa laughed, a genuine emotion bubbling up from under her calm exterior. "He was never there Albus, it was all smoke and mirrors. I allowed Lucius to believe I was helping him, but in taking on Sirius he had gone too far. He allowed himself to forget what I owed to my family, to forget which duty I would place forefront."

"So you show your hand at last, and to our side."

"And Lucius will follow, or never leave Azkaban."

At this Draco exclaimed loudly, and Dumbledore's eye was drawn to the student he had not even noticed. The boy looked worn out, all guard was dropped and his confusion was showing clearly.

His mother, however, paid no notice, simply waiting for Dumbledore to take charge, and he did, quickly returning to himself.

"We need to get out of here quickly," he ordered briskly, the 'old fool' act well and truly cast off. "Narcissa, you take Sirius, the similarity in your magical signatures will make the apparition easy, and I'll take Draco. The castle is expecting us, just concentrate on my office."

With a loud crack, Draco watched his mother disappear, and could not suppress the tension that ran through his body. "Don't even think about it Draco," Dumbledore warned softly, "you don't want to annoy your mother and if nothing else you must be feeling a curiosity as to what will happen next."

"I don't understand," he replied finally, after a brief internal struggle. "I don't know my mother any more."

"Then know your self my boy." Dumbledore threw his wand on to the bed and folded his hands behind his back. "Here I am, utterly defenceless and totally at your mercy. Take out your wand. Do it," he insisted as Draco demurred. "Cast a spell on me, any spell. _Now_!"

Eyes wide with fear Draco cast "Expelliarmus!" A second wand shot out from under Dumbledore's robes and the old man smiled his approval at the move.

"Good boy, following your instincts, excellent. Kill me."

"What?"

"You know the curse, you've used it before. If you truly believe in all your father has told you, kill me now and join Voldemort today. You will have more power and glory than Harry Potter could dream of having, you will rise above your classmates, and above your father. I am not afraid to die Draco, nor of having you be the one to kill me, if you can. Two little words, Draco, that's all it will take." Dumbledore's voice was soft now, and oh so matter of fact.

Draco starred at the old man, assessing what he said. He had removed the second wand, a wand which he could not have known about. He believed he had truly stripped Dumbleodre of any conventional protection, and the hands held behind the back would hinder any display of wandless magic.

Dumbeldore watched the internal struggle before him with baited breath. Death held no fear for him except in the consequences it would have on the boy before him. He believed Draco to be within his grasp, able to be saved if only he could first be broken. He could only pray he was right.

Slowly, Draco's face became calmer, his hands steadier.

Slowly one hand raised up, wand pointed straight ahead.

"Flippendo."

Dumbedore shot backwards, colliding with the floor with a thud.

"Your wands, sir," Draco stood above him, holding the sparking wands gingerly between thumb and forefinger. Dumbledore took them, accepting the hand which outstretched to help him to his feet. "You can't deny you deserved that, Headmaster."

"Indeed not, very Slytherin of you."

"Why take such a risk?"

"If I was right in my assessment of you, then there was no risk, if not, I deserved all I got."

"You made no move to defend yourself."

"No."

Draco stared at him for a moment before changing tack slightly, "what house were you in at school?"

Dumbledore just smiled and held out his hand. "Your mother will be worried."

They apparated together with a loud crack.

0 0 0 0 0 0

The first thing that he saw when the earth stopped spinning was Narcissa, clutching her son to her chest, shaking.

"Don't worry Narcissa."

The slap was another thing that took him off guard, and Dumbledore took an involuntary step back at the attack. "You bastard, there was no reason…"

"There was every reason Narcissa and you knew it. Sit down."

Three chairs appeared behind his guests and they obeyed, the issue clearly at an end.

"We need to manage this carefully, alive or dead, the truth about Sirius' stay in Azkaban was never divulged, and as such you are still a fugitive. However, there are certain people who should be appraised of your return, for want of a better word." At this juncture footsteps could be heard on the stairs, and the large wooden door opened slowly.

"Albus?"

"Come in, but close the door behind you."

With a curious look on his face, Remus Lupin entered the room, followed by an irritated looking Severus Snape.

Sirius, who had raised his head at the interruption, felt a smile slip across his face as he spoke, "hello baby, I'm back."

**END CHAPTER THREE**

What did you think?

Thanks to those who reviewed – nice to know someone is reading this!

**Lovedbytheangels**: yeah, it'll be Harry/Draco – I'm too much a sucker for that pairing for it to be anything else I think,

**Night Essence**: I like those stories cus there is a huge branch of family Draco doesn't know, which is kinda sad really.

**Katie**: yeah, I like my Narcissa.

**Kari Morgana Black**: while I do like Pansy/Draco, I think it needs to be written by better people than me. That said, there is part of me that wants to write it someday. This'll be Harry/Draco though.

**ura-hd**: Thanks 

**Siren Duveil**: Thanks 

**Dragonsnap**: Thanks, I thought it was pretty different, hope you still like it. 

**Cat**: Harry will find out soon, but there are other things to sort out too…

**Lady Constance Malfoy**: Thanks 

**CompleteGeek**: Thanks blushes Romance will be Harry/Draco and Sirius/… (tell you next chapter).


End file.
